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Hopes more pine martens will be born in the wild

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Hopes more pine martens will be born in the wild
Hopes more pine martens will be born in the wild20 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleGeorge ThorpeSouth WestMark Hamblin A pine marten stands on top of a log in an area of grassland. It has brown fur with black eyes and a black nose.Mark HamblinDozens of pine martens have been released in Dartmoor and Exmoor over the past two years

Conservationists say pine martens are "doing well" after being being reintroduced to parts of south-west England.

Dozens of the mammals, which are related to weasels, have been released into secret locations across Dartmoor and Exmoor since autumn 2024 as part of the Devon Wildlife Trust Two Moors Pine Marten project.

In July, it was confirmed the animals - which had disappeared from the region more than 100 years ago after being hunted and trapped to extinction - had successfully bred.

Project lead Tracey Hamston said the births were the "news we were waiting for" and were hopeful more young pine martens, called kits, would be spotted soon.

"This year's kits should be being born on both Dartmoor and Exmoor around now," Hamston said.

"We hope to see evidence of this on our cameras when the kits become more active in May and June."

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Hamston said the project had been able to track released pine martens using collars for the first six months before remote cameras took over.

She added the tracking had shown some of the pine martens, which are the size of a small cat, had moved more than 20 miles (32km) away from where they were released.

She said: "It's been amazing to see where the pine martens have travelled since their release.

"We can see that they've been thoroughly exploring the landscape before settling into their new woodland homes."

The project has asked people to report if they see a pine marten to help with ongoing tracking operations.

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More on this story

'Positive sign' as pine martens released on Exmoor

'Historic moment' as pine marten kits born

Information sessions ahead of pine marten release

Pine martens released to be reintroduced to Devon

South West pine marten project gets more funding

Related internet links

Two Moors Pine Marten Project

Dartmoor National Park

Exmoor National Park

ConservationWildlifeDevonEnvironment

Originally reported by BBC News